Agriculture: Alive And Well

Statistics Show Development Isn't Claiming All Of County's Farm Land

Although houses now are the only things sprouting from thousands of acres of what used to be Volusia County farm land, agriculture still is holding its own against development in the county.

In fact, although county officials worry about agricultural property falling to development, statistics show that more parcels of land are being farmed now than ever before in the county's history.

Those statistics, from the county property appraiser's office, show that the county has 4,658 parcels of land being farmed and getting agricultural exemptions from property taxes.

That compares to the 3,930 parcels that were being farmed and getting the exemptions in 1982. To get the exemptions, which give farmers breaks on their property tax bills, landowners must prove they are actively farming the land.

County officials and Florida state land-use planners have long feared losing agricultural land to development. Farm lands provide open spaces that can be used by wildlife.

Also, rainwater falling on open agricultural land can seep through the soil and replenish underground water supplies. Because of that, land-use planners in the county have been trying to protect farm land from development.

Fears of overdevelopment of agricultural land spread throughout Central Florida in the wake of a disastrous freeze in 1984. The freeze wiped out thousands of acres of citrus groves.

''I don't think we'll see agricultural uses expanding from what they are now,'' county council member Big John said Friday. ''With all the orange groves that are frozen now, I see tremendous development pressure on it.''

But agricultural exemptions in Volusia continued to proliferate after the freeze. Farmers and agricultural experts said many county citrus growers turned to raising ferns after their groves were ruined.

Fern growing, the major agricultural industry in the county, does not require large tracts of land. Ferneries of 5 acres or less can support a family, while other farming operations, such as citrus growing, require dozens or even hundreds of acres.

That is one of the reasons why the number of agricultural exemptions keeps increasing, said Jim Tatum, supervisor of agricultural land for the property appraiser's office.

Tatum said the number of agricultural parcels also have increased because some huge farms have been divided among heirs of estates or have been broken up into smaller tracts, but have remained in agricultural usage.

The county does not have records to show how much acreage has been rezoned from agricultural uses for either residential or commercial development. Agricultural extension agent Larry Loadholtz estimates that about 1,200 acres per year fall to development.

Many of those acres never actually have been farmed, other county officials say. Land that is zoned for but never used for agriculture makes up almost 278,000 acres, about 36 percent of the total 772,480 acres in the county.

Owners of such land can do little but pay taxes on it, so they are spurred into selling it for development, Loadholtz said.

''They can't leave it open,'' Loadholtz said. ''The only way they can keep from going broke is to sell it.''